Rural provision of health services declined in February and crashed in March, affecting everything from BCG immunisation to treatment for acute cardiac emergencies, official data shows India could find itself in an acute health crisis over the next few months, and the direct cause for it will not be the SARS-CoV2 virus.
Hundreds of thousands of children might already have missed vital immunisations, a Mint analysis of the latest health ministry data shows.
And thousands of adults may have missed potentially life-saving medical treatment as the novel coronavirus epidemic spread in India and a lockdown came into force.